Apple reportedly will announce the exact location of its $1B server farm

Apple is expected to announce the location of a new $1 billion data center that is expected to be built in Maiden, which is located in North Carolina's Catawba County.

City officials are expected to join Apple executives at a press conference later this afternoon to announce the new data center. The Cupertino-based company has said on several occasions it plans to build a new server farm in rural North Carolina -- Catawba County is currently plagued by double-digit unemployment, so it's possible thousands of jobs could be created at the new facility.

In addition to an expected 3,000 full-time and part-time jobs at the facility over the next 10 years, hundreds of contractors and employees will be responsible for building the facility, though it's unknown when construction will begin.

Maiden Mayor Bob Smyre, when asked about an Apple facility in his town, said the Catawba County Economic Development Corp. will be responsible for making any announcements.

It appears Catawba County is actively developing a new 180-acre business park that has support for backup electricity, fiber-optic and water, which led some journalists and analysts to point to the county as the location for the Apple data center.

Last month, the company announced its plans to build a data center somewhere in North Carolina, though an exact location for the facility wasn't offered. The state modified its corporate income tax liability, allowing Apple to receive a $46 million state tax credit.

"North Carolina continues to be a prime location for growing and expanding global technology companies," state officials said after the announcement last month.

"Game reviewers fought each other to write the most glowing coverage possible for the powerhouse Sony, MS systems. Reviewers flipped coins to see who would review the Nintendo Wii. The losers got stuck with the job." -- Andy Marken